A jump of 30% in the value of investor loans has buoyed the real estate market as it prepares for a huge spring selling season.
Loans for owner-occupiers are also higher, rising 13.2% compared with the corresponding period 12 months ago.
The total value of new housing loans rose 1.3% in June to $29.2 billion compared with the previous month, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The value of new owner-occupier loans rose 0.5% to $18.2 billion between May and June. The value of new investor loans rose 2.7% to $11 billion.
Meanwhile, ABS construction statistics released recently show that over the past 12 months, a total of 162,892 dwellings have been approved, compared to 177,936 in the previous 12 months.
That’s a decrease of 8.5% at a time when the Labor Government says it is pushing for more homes to be built to bring down housing prices.
However, the ABS said the survey found that June had the lowest number of dwellings approved on a financial year basis since 2011/12.
The increasing demand for more valuable residential loans is a likely consequence of higher prices caused by the continuing imbalance between supply and demand.
The ABS head of finance statistics, Dr Mish Tan, said: “Investor lending growth continued to outpace the growth of owner-occupiers in June. The total value of new investor loans was 30.2% higher compared to a year ago, while for owner-occupiers it was 13.2 per cent.”
While growth in the value of new investor loans was seen across all states and territories over the past 12 months, it was driven by NSW (+27.3%, $901m), Queensland (+34.5%, $587m) and Western Australia (+56.7%, $428m).
By comparison, growth was relatively slower in Victoria (+9.4%, $199m) and South Australia (+ 38.3%, $175m).
“Over the past 12 months, NSW continued to have the highest average loan sizes for both owner-occupiers and investors. It rose to $780,000 for owner-occupiers and $818,000 for investors,” Dr Tan said.
The number of new owner-occupier first-home buyer loans rose 0.7%in June and was 3.4% higher compared to a year ago.
The growth was driven by a rise of 6.5% in Victoria, which since June 2017 has continued to have the highest number of first home buyer loans of all states and territories.